Having experienced the house building process, I have learned a lot and wanted to share a few thoughts here in case you ever face the dilemma of building vs. buying. There is an Armenian saying that every man must “plant a tree, have a child, and build a house.” I think the last one is questionable in the literal sense (though in the saying it’s really about making a home for a family)…

Everyone has heard this a million times, but how many actually slow down to do a good job… This lesson is taught at least daily in my observation and experience. Finding the right pace for each job is often the difference between a great job and an acceptable job.
The first time I seriously thought about this was when I was fixing a closet door at my wife’s late grandmother’s house a few years ago. The brother of my wife’s grandfather was there. After observing me work, he said (more or …

This early morning has brought with it another perspective on mistakes. Mistakes come in different forms. Some are small, some are catastrophic, some impact only ourselves, some impact others, some are made in a second, others are made over many years, some take a minute to correct, others require long-term commitment. Following are some of my ways of dealing with mistakes.
Listen and get the message. I make mistakes all the time. If you are like me, you do not always recognize your mistakes immediately. Unfortunately, sometimes it takes days, weeks, …

Assorted United States coins
Many families in the US are going through difficult times lately mainly because of the effects of the revaluation of real estate. Every day I hear about people being negatively impacted by the current downturn. I feel that with additional preparation, the struggling families would weather this storm better. I have already said that teaching finance, discipline and especially financial discipline should be a priority for our school system but that’s not going to happen overnight. In the meantime, here are my tips on preparing for a …

Chance – what a great word! Amazing things happen by chance. Sometimes we get caught up in our daily routines and forget that magic word that breaks the monotone movement of time. What may appear to be completely random and governed by chance often reveals itself to be completely predetermined and supernatural years later. Quite a number of events in my life have taught me this lesson. Nothing happens completely by chance. Of course the opposing view could be equally valid (everything always happens completely randomly) but I choose not …